WFX Highlight Video 2011

*Edited by Carrie Davidson*

What a Non-Techy, Normal Person Learned at a Tech Conference

*A Guest Post by Carrie Davidson*

I’m not techy by nature. I don’t have a knack for understanding networks, audio systems, or anything that requires electricity. In my home, I delegate the operation and maintenance of items that have wires to my electrical engineer husband, Chris. Given my propensity to not understand technology, it was definitely a “God thing” that, about a year ago, I somehow ended up as a volunteer in the technical arts department at Topeka Bible Church. And by some additional miracle (or accident maybe?), I recently travelled to Dallas with a group of technical arts staff and volunteers from Topeka Bible Church and Fellowship Bible Church to attend a technical arts conference. What follows is a plain, simple, non-technical recap of the tidbits I gleaned from a few days at WFX.

My conference began with a tech leaders retreat intended to help tech leaders and laborers network, relax, and figure out ways to do our jobs more effectively. This part of the conference featured a panel of industry professionals who had some serious competence in the field of church technical arts. They spent time answering questions posed by the larger group as well as facilitating smaller group discussions on various topics including audio, video, lighting, burnout, and volunteers. At these sessions, I was introduced to a few helpful online resources (churchtechleaders.org and lightingtrainer.com). Most significantly, I came to understand that the technical arts department is a ministry to all the people in the church, as well as the staff and volunteers who comprise the department. And as a ministry, the calling of tech leaders goes beyond making all of the audio, video, and lighting in the church work. The main focus of a tech leader is to minister to their churches and teams, and that’s an exciting assignment. That’s the reason that I find technical arts so exciting and energizing; it’s not about the DMX protocol or the equipment, it’s about building the body of Christ!

The only thing I know about video cameras is how to turn one on (and even that little bit required some training). So I was really jumping into the conference with both feet when I began my Wednesday morning in a hands-on-training session taught by Anthony Coppedge called Directing a Live Production. I still don’t really know how to do anything other than turn on the camera, but I appreciated leaving the session with dozens of practical principles regarding video. Here are the highlights, as best as I can recall them:

Consider why you are doing video before you actually begin doing video. If you are not leveraging video to accomplish the purpose of your church, do NOT use video. It’s a major black hole for money and bad video is worse than no video.

It’s important to capture the heart of the worship experience and not just the beat and rhythm of the worship.

Define the terms that you are using (does wide angle mean zoomed all the way out or just zoomed out to the edge of the stage?)

Love your group, whether paid or volunteer. You will never get the results you are looking for if all you ever talk about is “I need a wide angle on camera 2.”

Good stewardship is less about how much you save and more about what you don’t waste.

Directly following my video class, I attended a session called Lighting, Stage Elements, Set Design, and Effects taught by Alex Castro. If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE lighting. I love designing and executing a show, I love trying to figure out how lights work, and I love thinking of ways to program better. Lighting is definitely more up my alley than video or audio. I tell you this just so you understand that I thought that I would be learning about the technical side of lighting when I attended this lighting class. Instead, Alex Castro drilled home the fact those who are involved in building anything in the FOH (front of house) are called to do so, just as God called workmen to build the sanctuary in Exodus 36:1. As people who are chosen, God enables us through wisdom and experience to do excellent work and He equips us by providing the skills and resources needed to do His work. This was a valuable point to learn because it is a reminder that it is a privilege to do a job that brings the attention of the church to the altar of God. We should do so joyfully for an audience of One.

The keynote speakers focused on the purpose of using technology in worship. TBC’s purpose is to lead people to life in Christ, and it’s that very purpose that should drive the technology that we use as a church (not the other way around). Determining the technology we use involves classifying it as either necessary or helpful and to not confuse the two (this doesn’t mean that we can’t ever use helpful things). For example, in a 1,500 seat auditorium, a way to project sound is necessary. Having a video projection system is helpful. It’s the church that drives the technology, not the other way around.

When it comes to tech gear, I’m a little bit behind the times; hence, it was majorly great that a large part of my trip to Dallas was spent walking around the expo hall looking at gear. I had a wonderful time hearing about some really great new gear that my group found (example: Elation Platinum Spot 5R Pro Moving Head w/ CMY Color Mixing System) and discovering some cool technology that I thought was new but had been around for a long time (example: rear and short throw projectors). I even got to talk to the manufacturer of TBC’s lighting console (ETC’s Smartfade ML) and ask every question I could possibly think of. As an added bonus, I came home with some decent swag (some of which will possibly end up in my small group’s white elephant gift exchange)!

Last but not least, the most beneficial part of this conference for me was not the product demos or lecture sessions. It was getting to spend time getting to know the techs that I minister with on a regular basis. Like me, these are people who are passionate about serving in order to enhance the experience of everyone who walks through the same doors as I do each Sunday. Yeah, we had some good laughs (Bryan: I think we should go to the gas station. Cory: What do you mean? We just ate Mexican food; we ARE the gas station) and we talked geeky tech specs (Kaleb “The encoder on Citygate is really bad”), but most importantly, we grew together as a team. The technical arts ministry spans so far beyond pushing the right buttons and executing a flawless church service. It’s all about pouring into the lives of those we serve and those we serve with.

Simplify. Everything.

There comes a point in every ministry at which you need to revisit the things you are doing and clarify why you are doing them. Just to be clear, I'm not talking about why are we doing ministry at all, but rather asking about the nuts and bolts, hands-on methodology of the ministry. If your goal is to help kids grow in their faith, there are dozens of approaches you could take. In the tech world we have the same situation. If I want to provide a way for people to view the message from this past Sunday, I could take several approaches. As I've worked through these choices in various areas of the tech ministry, the theme that emerges is "simplify".

I recently had a conversation about this very thing with a volunteer who has been serving faithfully in tech arts at TBC for a many years. He mentioned that he was enjoying serving more now than ever before because his role was "simpler". Now that doesn't mean he sits around all morning with hardly anything to do. On the contrary, he has a job that keeps him busy from 7:45am to 12:15pm! Here's the difference. We've clarified the purpose of the job and we've removed any extraneous things that don't contribute to that purpose. This provides a focus and a simplicity that results in a better end product.

This idea of simplicity can apply to all areas of ministry. If you take time to define goals, then it becomes easier to see what things don't propel you towards those goals. This is especially helpful in areas that are largely staffed by volunteers. Volunteers are not staff. (Seems obvious right?) They are there to serve for a few hours and its the job of staff to equip them in order make the most of that time. By providing clear goals, a streamlined work environment, and by eliminating distracting responsibilities, staff can exponentially increases the return-on-investment of that volunteers valuable time. It also provides a much better experience for volunteers. I want my volunteers to feel like they've accomplished a goal and not to be frustrated or overwhelmed by having too many responsibilities (or in my world, too much gear to manage).

This process of simplification will look different for everyone but has universal benefits. You'll probably find that you save time and energy and that the quality of your end results improve. Win/win!

I'll just wing it. Its only church, right?

Wrong! Hopefully this is not an attitude that you find yourself or those on your team struggling with. But if it is, let me encourage you to readjust your thinking on the issue. I would argue that, contrary to "making it up as we go", the work we do in the church deserves our very best preparation and planning. This is especially true for those of us working in the technical arts. As the complexity and detail of our service production increases, the more time must be spent preparing and documenting things in advance. Here are some things that I do weekly to streamline our rehearsals and services:

#1. Input Lists.

These are indispensable. Even if your stage doesn't change that much from week to week, having all stage inputs, console inputs, console outputs, and monitor assignments in one place is a lifesaver when trouble shooting. Taking the time to create this sheet ahead of time also ensures that you know how many console channels you'll need, if you're running low on mics, or, if you're like me, if you're running low on outputs! Better to discover and deal with these issues the day before a show than while the band is on stage. That is just unacceptable.

#2 Stage Plots.

These don't have to be perfectly to scale CAD drawing of your stage. (It helps if they're close though.) These are helpful for two reasons. Its always good to pre-visualize how the band, choir, drama, teaching pastor, or whatever else you have going on will interact within the confines of your stage. There have to be paths of entrance and exit. Musicians should not feel or appear cramped on stage. There has to be space for the pastor to preach from. That may sound silly, but the pastor shouldn't be nestled in the string section. Drawing it out helps you think through those issues. The second reason for stage plots is figuring out all your stage inputs. Should the bass be plugged into input 49 or 11? Well if I have a plot, I can easily see which will be best, based on the bass players location and what is happening around him or her.

#3. Aviom Labels (or Hearback or M-48 or MyMix or aux sends).

No matter what system you use, there has to be a way for the musicians to hear themselves and the other musicians. We happen to use the Aviom system but this applies to any form of monitor mixing. Musicians get frustrated (and rightly so) when they can't figure out where stuff is on the Aviom. There is really no excuse for that. Clearly labeling the unit is very important. You may have a set up that changes very little and so you can make one label that stays the same. More likely there is enough change week to week to warrant new labels. Using the band's names will really add a personal touch. And lets face it, it lets the band know that you thought about them in advance. A spreadsheet and a tabletop paper cutter will go a long way.

#4. Laying Out the Console.

Whether you use a digital desk or an analog desk, you should take the time before hand to label, assign, route, patch, insert, and whatever else you need to do to be ready for the rehearsal. This is really beneficial because it gives you a chance as the engineer to think through your set up, your routing, your effects, and really optimize your work space. Because it is your workspace. And it should be optimized. Enough said.

#5. Line Check.

This may be the most important step. This step of the "documentation" process is to document that stuff works! Its the culmination of all the previous steps. (By the way, while the band is going through their first song is NOT the time to line check.) Just go through and make sure that all the mics, DIs, video feeds, and monitor sends are correctly set up. The band shouldn't have to wait while you try to figure out where the acoustic is patched and why there is no signal.

All of this basically comes down to professionalism and courtesy. Do the work before hand, and the day of will be much smoother. It shows that you value the work that you do and that you value the time and commitment of the other musicians and techs involved. It eliminates distraction and frustration and allows the end product to be that much better and more effective. And since the end product is worshiping our great God and leading others to Him, I'd say its pretty important.

What's With All the Lights?

Wow, its been a while since I posted anything here. Easter has come and gone and now the pre-summer lull is almost over too. I knew if I didn't grab this chance to post, I probably wouldn't get around to it for a while.

Here at Topeka Bible Church we are blessed to have many talented and creative people volunteering their artistic talents for God's Kingdom. In many cases, we also have the privilege of providing them with the resources to do so. If you have been coming to TBC for more than 6 months, you'll notice that a lot has changed at TBC in a specific area of our worship services: Lighting.

Initially, this took the form of adding some simple color washes to the stage walls and dimming the house lights during music to minimize distraction and maximize the focus on whatever worship element was taking place. However, in the past two months, we have been able to expand our lighting capabilities to include a variety of very flexible light fixtures. These fixtures allow us to control the color, intensity, and in some cases the position and pattern of the lights. Our talented volunteer lighting operators have tackled this new system and done a great job using these tools as another artistic element in our services. But you may be asking, "Why? Whats with all the lights?"

This use of light in churches is really nothing new, it has simply changed form. For a thousand years architects have been creating churches that use stained glass to create amazing scenes of light and color, to remind people of the glory and beauty of God. In the even more distant past, God instructed the Israelites to create a beautiful and ornate Tabernacle (Exodus 25) and later on, an even more ornate and extraordinary Temple (1 Kings 6-7). Why does God command what is seemingly so opulent? It is because beauty and art esteem glory and value to God and point people to Him.

Lighting is a powerful tool. When used effectively, it can be used to convey joy, reflection, excitement, awe, etc. It can help focus attention and eliminate distraction. Its is also an art that adds beauty, depth, and creativity to a space. Humans are creative beings, made in the image of our great Creator. Creativity naturally inspires and moves us. That is what prompts composers to write breathtaking music, painters to create masterworks, and authors to formulate gripping prose and poetry. God is honored when we use these creative gifts in worship.

So why do we use creative lighting? We use creative lighting, along with compelling visuals, engaging media, excellent music, meaningful words, and carefully crafted teaching in order to do two things and two things only: 1.) to ascribe glory to our magnificent God and 2.) to communicate the Truth of the Gospel in order to lead people to life in Christ. All of those creative elements work together to present an engaging, cohesive, sometimes somber, sometimes inspiring environment where people can be encouraged to freely and authentically worship.

Feel free to chime in on the discussion. I welcome your comments!